Channel 9 Forums - Tech Off - Discuss the Beginning Game Development series on Coding 4 Fun

Tech Off - Discuss the Beginning Game Development series on Coding 4 Fun

ksharkey — Thu, 26 May 2005 21:15:13 GMT

The Coding4Fun Dev Center is all about writing code for the sheer joy of it. The 'Beginning Game Development' series by Derek Pierson is all about helping you learn the ins and outs of creating a game using .NET Framework 2.0. Here's the place to discuss those articles, and to suggest new topics.

Current articles in the series:
Beginning Game Development
Introduction to DirectX

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resist — Tue, 05 Jul 2005 20:54:34 GMT

I just read the third part of this series and checked out the code for the article and it seems to be running awfully slow. The frame rate hangs around 5. This seems pretty odd since the CreateFlags for the device do specify HardwareVertexProcessing and PureDevice. I don't see how displaying a single rotating cube can be this slow.

Any ideas how to get this to run faster?

Louis

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Minh — Wed, 06 Jul 2005 21:43:51 GMT

If you're running it within Visual Studio & the Debug DX runtime, then watch the debug window. If you see lots of debug statements, then that could cause it to slow down.

Try running it from outside of VS.

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resist — Thu, 07 Jul 2005 18:43:32 GMT

Well, I gotta admit it was a good bet on your part, but unfortunately, I get the exact same performance when running the actual application outside of the VS.NET debug environment.

Also, while running it in the debug environment, I didn't see any particular output in the debug window. I noticed there is a "Start with D3D debug support" option in the menu (or something similar). However, I've never used that option.

Any other advice?

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Minh — Thu, 07 Jul 2005 22:39:05 GMT

Just so I can try it out too, which code are you running?

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resist — Fri, 08 Jul 2005 12:14:48 GMT

Well wouldn't know it! I was trying to determine the exact lines of code I had uncommented, and upon running the code this morning, I get around 35 fps instead of 5!

I don't know what happened, because I did try it yesterday (following your post), and it was still running awfully slow.

So how good is 35fps? It doesn't seem very high to me for a simple spinning cube, so maybe you could try it out.

Get the C# code from Part III, comment lines 122, 123 and 95, and uncomment lines 98, 101 and 120. You should get a spinning cube.

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brussell — Fri, 08 Jul 2005 14:58:06 GMT

I get about 45 fps, but not all the sides of the cube display. Some sides disapear so you can see the inside of the cube. Is this normal?

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Minh — Fri, 08 Jul 2005 18:18:40 GMT

I get the same frame rate for some of the samples, too. Both in the C# AND the C++ version. My theory is that one of the UI classes is extremely expensive here -- because, using the included mesh viewer, I can view Tiger.x at 800 fps, so surely, a cube should be able to do the same. We'll just have to isolate that control & watch the framerate go up.

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Minh — Fri, 08 Jul 2005 18:19:54 GMT

brussell wrote:

I get about 45 fps, but not all the sides of the cube display. Some sides disapear so you can see the inside of the cube. Is this normal?

Not sure... are you zooming in very close?

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nmoog — Sun, 10 Jul 2005 02:28:40 GMT

I'm seeing the same thing - as the cube spins different faces are getting rendered in the fore-ground which should be in the background etc. I remember reading up about 3d progamming in the olden days ('95) and they always were talking about depth sorting, and z-buffers, and bsp something-somethings that were used to determine which vertices should be rendered in which order.

I reckon this is what will be covered in the next tutorial (I hope so anyway

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brussell — Mon, 11 Jul 2005 15:25:17 GMT

Well in the last article, he mentioned that DirectX will not draw the side facing the camera so to make sure you use the correct culling. I figured he would have done it correctly in the example, but maybe I'm wrong.

I'm not zoomed in anymore than the example starts out as.

This is from the last article: "When drawing a three-dimensional object, DirectX does not render the primitives (triangles) that comprise the faces of those objects that do not face the camera. This is called back face culling.

DirectX determines which side of an object is facing the camera by using the order (winding) of the vertices. If you choose either clockwise or counterclockwise, then the vertices that are wound the opposite are on the back of the object and are culled. The default mode is counterclockwise culling, so you need to make sure to define your vertices in a clockwise order."

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resist — Mon, 11 Jul 2005 20:46:40 GMT

I get the same problem with the cube, some faces do seem to disappear while it is spinning. I didn't think much of it, since it was put there simply to "experiment" anyway.

So how do we go about finding which control or what exactly is slowing us down?

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nmoog — Thu, 14 Jul 2005 05:04:26 GMT

Does anyone know when the next lesson will be out, or how often they are released? The anticipation is killing me, and now that I know how to spin triangles, I reaaaally want to know how to spin my objects independently of each other

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brussell — Thu, 14 Jul 2005 16:33:47 GMT

I think the problem isn't that sides are missing or disapearing. It looks like the problem is that you can see through the top color to the color behind it. This is making it appear as though sides are missing. Any ideas on how to make it not do this? I was experimenting with drawing triangles and the bottom one would sometimes draw on top of the top one. I went back to the cube and only displayed a couple sides and could see that is what is happening there too.

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spoida — Tue, 19 Jul 2005 14:20:19 GMT

With regard to the different faces of the cube getting rendered problem, I've found that that some of the faces in the CreateTestCube() method do not obey the clockwise winding rule that was briefly talked about in the article. If you want to see these faces correctly you have to do a couple of things...

First you have to fix up the offending faces so that when the camera is looking at each face from outside the cube, the vertices that form each individual triangle trace out a clockwise path.

Second, since back-face culling is currently turned off you have to turn it on and set it to cull faces that have counter-clockwise orientation (imagine being inside the cube and trying to look out...all of the faces will be oriented the wrong way so wont be drawn etc). To do this, replace line 108 with

device.RenderState.CullMode = Cull.CounterClockwise;

If you do these two step you should get a normal-looking spinning cube that only shows the faces that are visible to the camera and not obstructed by the rest of the cube.

Without making these changes what you get is an attempt to draw the cube without any knowlege of what faces/colours should be on top of each other. If you run it again without culling turned on you'll notice that the last colours defined in the function that generates the cube are the colours that are on top and hence drawn most often, and the first colours are generally obscured (that is, you get more purple and red than aqua and yellow).

In case anybody is interested, here is my modified code for constructing the triangles so that they obey the clockwise winding rule.

// face 1
verts[0].Position = new Vector3 ( 0.0f, 0.0f, 0.0f );
verts[1].Position = new Vector3 ( 0.0f, 10.0f, 0.0f );
verts[2].Position = new Vector3 ( 10.0f, 0.0f, 0.0f );
verts[3].Position = new Vector3 ( 10.0f, 0.0f, 0.0f );
verts[4].Position = new Vector3 ( 0.0f, 10.0f, 0.0f );
verts[5].Position = new Vector3 ( 10.0f, 10.0f, 0.0f );
// face 2
verts[6].Position = new Vector3 ( 10.0f, 0.0f, 0.0f );
verts[7].Position = new Vector3 ( 10.0f, 10.0f, 0.0f );
verts[8].Position = new Vector3 ( 10.0f, 0.0f, 10.0f );
verts[9].Position = new Vector3 ( 10.0f, 0.0f, 10.0f );
verts[10].Position = new Vector3 ( 10.0f, 10.0f, 0.0f );
verts[11].Position = new Vector3 ( 10.0f, 10.0f, 10.0f );
// face 3
verts[12].Position = new Vector3 ( 0.0f, 0.0f, 0.0f );
verts[13].Position = new Vector3 ( 10.0f, 0.0f, 0.0f );
verts[14].Position = new Vector3 ( 0.0f, 0.0f, 10.0f );
verts[15].Position = new Vector3 ( 0.0f, 0.0f, 10.0f );
verts[16].Position = new Vector3 ( 10.0f, 0.0f, 0.0f );
verts[17].Position = new Vector3 ( 10.0f, 0.0f, 10.0f );
// face 4
verts[18].Position = new Vector3 ( 0.0f, 0.0f, 0.0f );
verts[19].Position = new Vector3 ( 0.0f, 0.0f, 10.0f );
verts[20].Position = new Vector3 ( 0.0f, 10.0f, 0.0f );
verts[21].Position = new Vector3 ( 0.0f, 10.0f, 0.0f );
verts[22].Position = new Vector3 ( 0.0f, 0.0f, 10.0f );
verts[23].Position = new Vector3 ( 0.0f, 10.0f, 10.0f );
// face 5
verts[24].Position = new Vector3 ( 0.0f, 0.0f, 10.0f );
verts[25].Position = new Vector3 ( 10.0f, 0.0f, 10.0f );
verts[26].Position = new Vector3 ( 0.0f, 10.0f, 10.0f );
verts[27].Position = new Vector3 ( 0.0f, 10.0f, 10.0f );
verts[28].Position = new Vector3 ( 10.0f, 0.0f, 10.0f );
verts[29].Position = new Vector3 ( 10.0f, 10.0f, 10.0f );
// face 6
verts[30].Position = new Vector3 ( 0.0f, 10.0f, 0.0f );
verts[31].Position = new Vector3 ( 0.0f, 10.0f, 10.0f );
verts[32].Position = new Vector3 ( 10.0f, 10.0f, 0.0f );
verts[33].Position = new Vector3 ( 10.0f, 10.0f, 0.0f );
verts[34].Position = new Vector3 ( 0.0f, 10.0f, 10.0f );
verts[35].Position = new Vector3 ( 10.0f, 10.0f, 10.0f );

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sohamroy — Thu, 21 Jul 2005 21:36:33 GMT

i like opengl

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gopakumator — Fri, 22 Jul 2005 00:49:12 GMT

im getting some error while comiling the code in Article III (DirectX II):
Im using VS.NEt 2004 and i have .NET Framework 1.1 redistrutable installed.
The eroor i get is this...
An unhandled exception of type 'Microsoft.DirectX.Direct3D.InvalidCallException' occurred in system.windows.forms.dll

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Aiden — Tue, 26 Jul 2005 12:03:38 GMT

This is a great tutorial. I just got visual C# express. Was using VC++ 6 before this. Wow, i was so behind the times. Finally i think i'll be able to learn directX. So anyways, ive been playing with the tutorial code and thought i'd share my findings (as i understand them so far).
        The tutorial uses PositionColored vectors which specify a location in World Space. And it's rendering them using the gfxdevice.DrawUserPrimitives method which doesn't use the vectorBuffer. The alternative method is to use gfxdevice.DrawPrimitives, which assumes you ARE using the vectorBuffer and you've already loaded the primitive into the buffer. I'm guessing there are situations where it's difficult to use the buffering method and rendering your primitives straight from system memory is more flexible.
       A TransformedColored vector specifies a location in Screen Space. And when such a primitive is rendered, viola, it's flat on the screen. So there's the first step to a 2D vector application. I've presented the code below to initialize the vertexBuffer with a TransformedColored primitive and render it to the screen. You'll notice that im using an alternate method of creating vertices, instead of creating the Position and Color separately, they can be created together. I dont know why a Vector4 is required (and its z, w values).
       I hope this code works for you, i'm just learning, so i may have left something out. Let me know how it goes.

// BEGIN CODE

VertexBuffer vertexBuffer;

gfxdevice.BeginScene();
            this.InitializeVertexBuffer();     // initialize 2d primitive
            Draw2dScene();
gfxdevice.EndScene();

protected void Draw2dScene()
        {
            gfxdevice.SetStreamSource(0, vertexBuffer, 0);
            gfxdevice.VertexFormat = CustomVertex.TransformedColored.Format;
            gfxdevice.DrawPrimitives(PrimitiveType.TriangleList, 0, 1);
        }

public void InitializeVertexBuffer()
        {
            CustomVertex.TransformedColored[] verts = new CustomVertex.TransformedColored[3];
            verts[0] = new CustomVertex.TransformedColored(new Vector4(150, 50, 1, 1), Color.Red.ToArgb());
            verts[1] = new CustomVertex.TransformedColored(new Vector4(250, 250, 1, 1), Color.Blue.ToArgb());
            verts[2] = new CustomVertex.TransformedColored(new Vector4(50, 250, 1, 1), Color.Green.ToArgb());

            vertexBuffer = new VertexBuffer(typeof(CustomVertex.TransformedColored), verts.Length,
                gfxdevice, 0, CustomVertex.TransformedColored.Format, Pool.Default);
            GraphicsStream graphicsStream = vertexBuffer.Lock(0, 0, LockFlags.None);
            graphicsStream.Write(verts);
            vertexBuffer.Unlock();
        }

// END CODE

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Toasty0 — Tue, 09 Aug 2005 17:26:02 GMT

gopakumator wrote:

im getting some error while comiling the code in Article III (DirectX II):
Im using VS.NEt 2004 and i have .NET Framework 1.1 redistrutable installed.
The eroor i get is this...
An unhandled exception of type 'Microsoft.DirectX.Direct3D.InvalidCallException' occurred in system.windows.forms.dll

I'm getting the same error. I believe it is because we're trying to compile this tutorial using Visual Studio 2003 instead of the recommended Visual Studio 2005.

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Aiden — Mon, 15 Aug 2005 04:33:07 GMT

Framerate Issues - using Radeon 9550 (bottom end DX9 card)

Strangely, my DX apps run at 49 to 72 fps, and i cant tell what makes them run at these rates. But this is clearly nowhere near possible, upward of 700 fps for a simple scene. Looking in Control Panel > Direct X, i see that i've selected 'Use retail version of direct 3D', instead of 'Use Debug version of direct 3D'. So why no speed ? Also, i can compile the microsoft sample directX empty project and it runs at 760 fps.

PS. When's part IV coming online, i think we're ready for it.

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OnLineToMuch — Wed, 17 Aug 2005 18:09:42 GMT

I get the following exception: Microsoft.DirectX.Direct3D.InvalidDeviceException on the following line of code in the constructor:

Caps caps = Manager.GetDeviceCaps ( adapterOrdinal, DeviceType.Hardware );

when I connect my laptop to the docking station with an external monitor. How would I insure that this is going to work under conditions like these?

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OnLineToMuch — Wed, 17 Aug 2005 18:13:58 GMT

I am having no trouble with Dot Net 2003 and this code. There have been a few tasks where I had to address the issue in a slightly different manner. I did not copy the code from the samples, but typed it in instead. Maybe there is a difference.

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smoothcoder — Mon, 22 Aug 2005 10:45:50 GMT

Is there any coming DirectX III article? 'Cause this episode seems dead....

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David.Kingston — Thu, 25 Aug 2005 18:06:41 GMT

I've been working through this series to get my feet wet with VS2005, and it's been fun.

A word of warning. Direct3D is not supported by the video card used by Virtual PC / Virtual Server. So, your app will compile, but you can't run it unless you can get the 2.0 beta runtime on an actual hardware system.

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mclazarus — Sun, 28 Aug 2005 20:55:54 GMT

Thanks Derek, this intro has been great so far. I can't wait for the next article.

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ShakaWare — Wed, 31 Aug 2005 04:08:32 GMT

Greetings,

I am working on plain box that has all of my VS 2005 .NET 2.0 stuff on it. I am using the mainboard graphics processor. My box does not have a graphics card.

I got the same error on DeviceType.Hardware.

I changed to DeviceType.reference and the code woked. At least past that line. I am having other DX9 issues.

I am getting a runtime error on this line...

device.DrawUserPrimitives( PrimitiveType.LineStrip, 6, this.CreateCrossHairVertexArrayTop() );

I just starting writing this tutorial about 3 hours ago, so I am still tweaking.

Micah

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lordrhys — Thu, 01 Sep 2005 19:25:56 GMT

Hi All,

   trying to do this in VB.Net, d/l the C4FBegDev3VB.msi file and installed it but when I load the source it's missing the
Microsoft.Samples.DirectX.UtilityToolkit, Is there somewhere I can get this file in VB format? I have the dxmutmisc.cs file in the August 2005 update DirectXSDK folder.

      Thanks,
               Frank

I resolved the problem, had to compile the DirectXSampleFramework that was in the part I code download and copy the dll into the bin folder for the VB code.

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klex — Tue, 13 Sep 2005 19:25:59 GMT

Hi All,

I am fairly new to DirectX programming and C# and I am having some trouble with the code in the second article.

I noticed that when running the Release code for the second article, entitled "Introduction to DirectX", I encounter an unhandled exception error, specifically D3DERR_INVALIDCALL. It looks like the problem is in the Device constructor related to the PresentParam.Windowed enum. When that is set to true (the app is running in windowed mode) it works just fine. However when .Windowed is false (fullscreen mode), the exception occurs. I am not sure how to fix this problem and was hoping someone could shed some light. I'd really love to be able to Clear my screen to a dark blue color .

Thanks in advance for the help.

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Minh — Tue, 13 Sep 2005 23:23:41 GMT

klex wrote:

Hi All,

I am fairly new to DirectX programming and C# and I am having some trouble with the code in the second article.

I noticed that when running the Release code for the second article, entitled "Introduction to DirectX", I encounter an unhandled exception error, specifically D3DERR_INVALIDCALL. It looks like the problem is in the Device constructor related to the PresentParam.Windowed enum. When that is set to true (the app is running in windowed mode) it works just fine. However when .Windowed is false (fullscreen mode), the exception occurs. I am not sure how to fix this problem and was hoping someone could shed some light. I'd really love to be able to Clear my screen to a dark blue color .

Thanks in advance for the help.

klex,

I haven't ran the proggy myself, but my guess is that maybe your video card doesn't support the particular mode that the code is trying to switch it to. Also, make sure you have the latest SDK.

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ShakaWare — Wed, 05 Oct 2005 15:59:04 GMT

I upgraded my on boad video drivers and am having much better performance on my machine.

For users who are getting 2-5 FPS make sure that any where the device is getting set up that the DeviceType is Hardware and not Reference. Reference is really slow.

Now then, is anyone getting a really blurry/pixely skybox? In part IV I used the MSFT lobby images and they are super clear, but when they render on the skybox mesh it is like everything is out of focus.

Is everyone having this issue?

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amos_olson — Wed, 05 Oct 2005 22:38:05 GMT

I've noticed that the maximum framerate is tied directly to the monitor refresh rate, at least on my system. Even if all I do is call the Present method, my frame rate ends up being 60. However, if I cover the game window with another window, the frame rate moves up to it's theoretical maximum (as shown in the window title on the taskbar).

This means the Present method is "eating" any extra time between frames while waiting for the monitor to refresh. Is there any way to get this time back for background housekeeping, like unloading defunct objects or preloading new stuff?

Or since housekeeping is necessary regardless of client speed, the "extra" time could be used to provide as much extra eye candy as can be rendered before the next render loop has to start...

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bimbo111 — Sun, 16 Oct 2005 09:19:19 GMT

I got some problems. Special with my directX. Im running win 2k, framework 1.1, Visual studio 2003. But i cant get a newer directX update with the samples and dll´s wich can run on my OS.
Do anybody know a version or what i am going to do ??

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agwan — Mon, 24 Oct 2005 09:25:22 GMT

Tips
Add a height map so the terrain is not just flat - Realy you should
Cover simple animation

If anyone else knows how to do this in vb please contact me
danielwbz@hotmail.com

Agwan

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potsie — Tue, 01 Nov 2005 01:34:14 GMT

great article so far...

just installed VS2005 and i'm getting the following error when I compile...

Error 1 The type 'Microsoft.DirectX.Direct3D.Device' exists in both 'c:\WINDOWS\Microsoft.NET\DirectX for Managed Code\2.0.900.0\Microsoft.DirectX.dll' and 'c:\WINDOWS\Microsoft.NET\DirectX for Managed Code\1.0.2902.0\Microsoft.DirectX.Direct3D.dll' D:\Websites\BattleTank2005\BattleTank2005\GameEngine.cs 81 44 BattleTank2005

how do i get around this?

thanks

Paul

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GingerBoy — Mon, 07 Nov 2005 21:56:26 GMT

Hello there,
I am having the same problem as you (Exception thrown by the caps creation line). If you can help me in any way von thtis subject i would really appriciate it as i am very eager to move on with the tutorials.

Thanks Steve

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DavidJones — Mon, 14 Nov 2005 04:30:42 GMT

Hey all,

Working my way through the examples, but got stopped in my tracks after the 2nd one!

After adding DirectXSupport, and the Microsoft.DirectX and Microsoft.DirectX.Direct3D references, try to compile and get 37 errors, all about the same...

"The type or namesapace name 'Filter' could not be found"...

I've re-done the project up to this step about 4x now with the same results...

DirectX version problem? I'm doing this on WindowsXP but saw on sys requirements server (?)...not sure if that's a problem...

Anyhow, pretty burnt on trying to figger it...any help would be great!

BTW, am a VFP programmer, noodling around with C# Express...

Thanks!

David

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Minh — Mon, 14 Nov 2005 23:35:12 GMT

I think the problem stems from using VS 2005 with the samples. There seems to be some confustion, and I've got my own. The latest DirectX SDK includes Managed DirectX based on the .Net CLR 2.0 that ships with VS 2005. But Tom Miller indicated that it only works on VS 2005 Beta 2.

So, the safest bet is to install the DirectX SDK PRIOR to the latest version (latest is Oct-2005, I believe) and use VS 2003.

Otherwise, wait for the next SDK in December if you want to use VS 2005 with it. Warning, the syntax of Managed DirectX will probably have changed significantly enought so that older Code4Fun articles will no longer compile. Hopefully, they'll have updated ones by then.

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AndyC — Mon, 14 Nov 2005 23:53:33 GMT

The latest DirectX comes with two versions of managed DirectX the old 1.1 version and a 2.0 beta (which doesn't seem to play nice with 2.0RTM)

If, when you add the DirectX references, you avoid adding the v2.0 Microsoft.DirectX library and instead only add the older versions (marked v1.1.4322) then everything seems to work okay.

There do seem to have been a few breaking changes between versions though so if the code was written against the 2.0 beta you might have to amend it slighty or use the beta 2.0 runtime (at least until a new DirectX SDK comes out, which will hopefully not be too long!)

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tnsneff — Tue, 15 Nov 2005 15:07:00 GMT

   Did you find the toolkit in vb format anywhere? I'd rather not have to d/l c# just to compile this.

   Thanks
      Tom

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tnsneff — Tue, 15 Nov 2005 15:10:54 GMT

Hi lordrhys,

   Did you find the toolkit in vb format anywhere? I'd rather not have to d/l c# just to compile it.

   Thanks
      Tom

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arulk — Wed, 16 Nov 2005 05:38:26 GMT

Hi,

I am trying to follow the series in this section. Can someone tell me how to install Directx SDK for managed code? I installed direct sdk 9.0 full sdk and followed that by august 2005 update and octorbe 2005 update. However, when I look at the GAC there is only one DLL registered for version 2.0 of CLR.

Trying to compile the code as given in the article is also giving build errors.

What am I missing?

-Arul

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Minh — Wed, 16 Nov 2005 15:31:38 GMT

arulk wrote:

Hi,

I am trying to follow the series in this section. Can someone tell me how to install Directx SDK for managed code? I installed direct sdk 9.0 full sdk and followed that by august 2005 update and octorbe 2005 update. However, when I look at the GAC there is only one DLL registered for version 2.0 of CLR.

Trying to compile the code as given in the article is also giving build errors.

What am I missing?

-Arul

The DirectX SDK should be all you need. But the Managed DirectX API changes quite frequently -- it's still very young after all. I don't know which SDK version the Code4Fun samples used, but it's entirely possible that the latest SDK breaks those samples. Does any one know if the SDK ships with all older MDX libraries? Or just the latest one?

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retroGamer — Fri, 02 Dec 2005 18:59:02 GMT

I think this is one of the best resources that I've seen for building a 3d game in C#. It's much more direct and to the point than any of the books I've seen on the subject.
When will part 6 come out? it looks as though the earlier parts came out about once a month, but it's been 2 months since part 5 came out. Derek, if your reading this, please post part 6 soon!

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ngbrito — Sat, 03 Dec 2005 22:50:15 GMT

I downloaded the sample code and found out that there is a bug in the VB sample:

In the GameEngine_Load event handler, instead of:

Me.SetStyle(ControlStyles.AllPaintingInWmPaint And ControlStyles.Opaque, True)

It should be:

Me.SetStyle(ControlStyles.AllPaintingInWmPaint Or ControlStyles.Opaque, True)

i.e. "Or" instead of "And"

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aJanuary — Sun, 04 Dec 2005 20:34:18 GMT

Anyone know how I would go about rendering it properly to a panel. I have set it up so that the device is linked to the panel, but I want to not only render the device, but also render the rest of the controls as normal.
If I use the OnPaint method, Windows takes over and repaints the panel itself. If I use the DoEvents, the application becomes very sluggish (and tbh, I've not been able to get it to render properly with a while loop anyway, Windows still takes over the painting).

[UPDATE]
I got round it by creating my own control that inherits from UserControl (I didn't really need the panel behaviour). This has the added advantage of abstracting all my code into one componant (including device initialisation and rendering).

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ngbrito — Mon, 05 Dec 2005 00:33:05 GMT

Hi,

In part IV, the GameEngine.CheckForInput method is not prepared to handle Mouse.MouseButtons returning null which is what happens if you lose the device because you reacquire it but don't refresh the _state and _buttonBuffer internal variables.

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ngbrito — Mon, 05 Dec 2005 01:10:25 GMT

In the code you normally have:

_device.Acquire();
_device.Properties.AxisModeAbsolute = false;

At least in my PC (Windows 2000) the second line always causes an exception! Apparently, you may only change this property before acquiring the device and as such the code should be:

_device.Properties.AxisModeAbsolute = false;
_device.Acquire();

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ngbrito — Mon, 05 Dec 2005 15:37:42 GMT

Hello,

Since all the vertex buffers, materials and textures of all the units of a certain class (e.g. tank) are exactly the same, shouldn't that data be stored in static variables to avoid memory duplication?

Bye

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ngbrito — Mon, 05 Dec 2005 18:16:18 GMT

Hello,

I'm not sure what is going on but I'm sure that there is something wrong in the program.

When the pitch is -PI/2 (-90º) or PI/2 (90º) you should be looking straight down/up and as such you should have the bottom/top skybox face stright in front which means that you should only see the bottom/top face. But if you look at the application you will notice of you see exactly half of the bottom/up and side faces which means that you pitch is only but instead you will see that it is appearing at an angle of -PI/4 (-45º) or PI/4 (45º).

What is going on here?

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MadKiwi — Mon, 19 Dec 2005 10:47:35 GMT

Great tutorials, I have learnt a lot.

I noticed a couple of things:

The formula for strafing in the Tutorial 6 C# code seems to be wrong.

Change this line in the MoveCameraPosition method:

_z += z * (float)Math.Cos(_heading) + x * (float)Math.Sin(_heading);

to:

_z += z * (float)Math.Cos(_heading) - x * (float)Math.Sin(_heading);

Also, because of the rounding in this division the camera doesn't move when you move the mouse slowly. To change this change the following (in GameEngine.cs):

_camera.MoveCameraLeftRight(_mouse.State.X / 10); _camera.MoveCameraUpDown(_mouse.State.Y / 10);

to:

_camera.MoveCameraLeftRight(_mouse.State.X / 10f); _camera.MoveCameraUpDown(_mouse.State.Y / 10f);

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rauhanlinnake — Thu, 22 Dec 2005 18:53:41 GMT

I found these articles yesterday, and they seems to be gewd

I noticed, that fullscreen mode doesen't work in the article. You must alter the device creation just a little:

#if DEBUG
presentParams.Windowed = true;
#else
presentParams.Windowed = false;
presentParams.DeviceWindow = this;
presentParams.BackBufferFormat = Format.X8R8G8B8;
presentParams.BackBufferHeight = this.Size.Height;
presentParams.BackBufferWidth = this.Size.Width;
presentParams.PresentationInterval = PresentInterval.Default;
#endif

And if you set DEBUG in VS Express, you can't start full screen mode with CTRL+F5, so I myself did not define DEBUG.

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A Programmer — Fri, 30 Dec 2005 00:22:44 GMT

gopakumator wrote:im getting some error while comiling the code in Article III (DirectX II):
Im using VS.NEt 2004 and i have .NET Framework 1.1 redistrutable installed.
The eroor i get is this...
An unhandled exception of type 'Microsoft.DirectX.Direct3D.InvalidCallException' occurred in system.windows.forms.dll

"I'm getting the same error. I believe it is because we're trying to compile this tutorial using Visual Studio 2003 instead of the recommended Visual Studio 2005."

I'm using Visual C#2005 Express Edition and finding the same sort of problem.

The solution is to download and install the code for each session and go back through it to find the bits and pieces that the author forgot to mention in the article. I found a couple of lines here and there he forgot to mention in the last two articles.

This last error was particularly weird in that the apparent fix was to add the "angle" variable and assignment statement. It doesn't look like it is actually used anywhere in the default code, but adding it fixed the exception!

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A Programmer — Fri, 30 Dec 2005 01:19:34 GMT

I downloaded, built and ran the C# code included with the latest (session 6) edition of the article. The results were not quite what I had expected:

System.NullReferenceException was unhandled
Message="Object reference not set to an instance of an object."
Source="BattleTank2005"
StackTrace:
       at BattleTank2005.GameEngine.Render() in E:\Documents and Settings\Michael\My Documents\MSDN\BattleTank 2005 Part VI - CS\BattleTank2005\GameEngine.cs:line 72
       at BattleTank2005.GameEngine.OnPaint(PaintEventArgs e) in E:\Documents and Settings\Michael\My Documents\MSDN\BattleTank 2005 Part VI - CS\BattleTank2005\GameEngine.cs:line 64
       at System.Windows.Forms.Control.PaintWithErrorHandling(PaintEventArgs e, Int16 layer, Boolean disposeEventArgs)
       at System.Windows.Forms.Control.WmPaint(Message& m)
       at System.Windows.Forms.Control.WndProc(Message& m)
       at System.Windows.Forms.ScrollableControl.WndProc(Message& m)
       at System.Windows.Forms.ContainerControl.WndProc(Message& m)
       at System.Windows.Forms.Form.WndProc(Message& m)
       at System.Windows.Forms.Control.ControlNativeWindow.OnMessage(Message& m)
       at System.Windows.Forms.Control.ControlNativeWindow.WndProc(Message& m)
       at System.Windows.Forms.NativeWindow.DebuggableCallback(IntPtr hWnd, Int32 msg, IntPtr wparam, IntPtr lparam)
       at System.Windows.Forms.UnsafeNativeMethods.DispatchMessageW(MSG& msg)
       at System.Windows.Forms.Application.ComponentManager.System.Windows.Forms.UnsafeNativeMethods.IMsoComponentManager.FPushMessageLoop(Int32 dwComponentID, Int32 reason, Int32 pvLoopData)
       at System.Windows.Forms.Application.ThreadContext.RunMessageLoopInner(Int32 reason, ApplicationContext context)
       at System.Windows.Forms.Application.ThreadContext.RunMessageLoop(Int32 reason, ApplicationContext context)
       at System.Windows.Forms.Application.Run(Form mainForm)
       at BattleTank2005.Program.Main() in E:\Documents and Settings\Michael\My Documents\MSDN\BattleTank 2005 Part VI - CS\BattleTank2005\Program.cs:line 22
       at System.AppDomain.nExecuteAssembly(Assembly assembly, String[] args)
       at System.AppDomain.ExecuteAssembly(String assemblyFile, Evidence assemblySecurity, String[] args)
       at Microsoft.VisualStudio.HostingProcess.HostProc.RunUsersAssembly()
       at System.Threading.ThreadHelper.ThreadStart_Context(Object state)
       at System.Threading.ExecutionContext.Run(ExecutionContext executionContext, ContextCallback callback, Object state)
       at System.Threading.ThreadHelper.ThreadStart()

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A Programmer — Fri, 30 Dec 2005 18:37:32 GMT

Something very strange is happening on my system. After adding the code to fix the full screen mode (mentioned above), but NOT disabling DEBUG - which means that the code should NOT be compiled and therefore should make no practical difference - the game now works.

Yes, the C# Express IDE showed the new code as greyed out.

The only difference between then (when it didn't work) and now is that my XP Professional system has been rebooted.

This PC has been running for years and has been in a production state all that time. Something tells me that something is not quite right with this IDE!

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Kal_Torak — Wed, 11 Jan 2006 12:46:52 GMT

Thanks for supplying the VB code with it :D

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Kal_Torak — Sat, 14 Jan 2006 23:09:03 GMT

I just downloaded, installed, and tried the Lesson 6 project.
I got 98 errors.

I am using the October update, the same one Derek is using for that lesson.
I have the 2.0 Framework installed, and the RTM version of VB Express 2005.

So, what is up?

I'm getting very frusterated with this.

Error screenshot

HALP!

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Mykre — Sun, 15 Jan 2006 08:59:20 GMT

I have posted a reply on the MSDN Forums, the errors for the above are because you have both the 1.1 and the beta 2.0 assemblies referenced for the Managed DirectX systems. Make sure that you have only got the assemblies referenced with a version number starting with 1.x.

http://forums.microsoft.com/MSDN/ShowPost.aspx?PostID=203954&SiteID=1&mode=1

The reason for this is that the new beta assemblies have all of the name spaces included for the managed directx systems. In the future this will assist with distributing your applications.

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Kal_Torak — Sun, 15 Jan 2006 17:31:22 GMT

Yes, that fixed the problem. Thanks a bunch.
The only little question I have now is, what is this error about?It's easy enough to fix, but I don't understand why it is a problem.

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Minh — Sun, 15 Jan 2006 18:08:28 GMT

Kal_Torak wrote:

Yes, that fixed the problem. Thanks a bunch.
The only little question I have now is, what is this error about?It's easy enough to fix, but I don't understand why it is a problem.

It means that you're using the shared method (Multiply) of the class Microsoft.DirectX.Matrix. You probably have an Imports statement to the Microsoft.DirectX namespace, and since VB is not case-sensitive, the compiler sees "matrix.Multiply(...)" as "Microsoft.DirectX.Matrix.Multiply(...)" -- which it should, but since you also has a variable named "matrix" -- the compiler is warning you that you should explicitly use the long form.

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Kal_Torak — Mon, 16 Jan 2006 12:37:34 GMT

Thanks MinH.

Does Derek read this thread? Or should we email our feedback/suggestions to him?

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GandalfLeBlanc — Sun, 05 Feb 2006 22:50:13 GMT

Kal_Torak wrote:

Thanks MinH.

Does Derek read this thread? Or should we email our feedback/suggestions to him?

Thanks for that question!!

I would like to make a suggestion, and maybe this suggestion would interest anyone that publish articles on the web. About the only time I have to read such articles is on the move with my old iPaq, it would be nice to provide a PDF version of the article, I had to scroll left-right, up and down for the whole first part of it...

PDF documents can be optimised for pocket pc but I'm sure you know that.

Thank you for those articles, I have already read books on DirectX using C++, now I'm reading 2 tutorials on DirectX.Net and I am starting to be confused... I hope you will help get clearer ideas on all those concepts.

Have a nice day,
GLB

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brog — Fri, 17 Feb 2006 17:01:47 GMT

Hi,
I thought the article started off really well. Went at a good pace by explaining what each addition of code meant and letting me add it so i understood each section. Great!
and then i get to section 3 (the direct input section) and ahhh whats going on?! the article suddenly states that it has added and refactored a whole load of code! so now i'm completely lost because i thought the whole point of the tutorial was to go through how do design a game well step-by-step.
So, i decide that it is easiest just to download the code and continue anyway. Then i keep on reading and the article has changed to techno bable. Now, i'm joking a little really because i have done some OpenGL and discrete math in which i did matrix transformations so i did actually understand what was going on. but, if i was new to computer graphics i would have been completely lost because it in no way attempts to explain what some of the things are e.g. an Identity matrix.
The reason why i'm doing this tutorial is because i'd like to get a grasp of DirectX after using OpenGL a little bit and also understand how to program a game well. Unfortuanately i really feel like its started to miss the point in later sections.
Good effort but it started sprinting too soon.
brog

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Xiaoth — Sun, 26 Feb 2006 19:45:44 GMT

I just started reading this series. I saw the following comment in the "Beginning Game Development" article (first article), and I want to comment about this statement...

As we add more functionally to the game we will continuously do small design sessions to formulate our ideas. This iterative approach to developing software is the best way to create good software, and is more fun at the same time.

I've been a software developer for a long time, albeit not for games. At one point in my career I quit my job and spent three years writing and re-writing a desktop blogging application that I had intended to sell. I "knew" what I wanted to build, but approached the project with the same philosophy as quoted above.

In the end, I had a buggy, kludged-up application that I kept having to release patches for every week, and my app that was supposed to take one month to build and sell to the world for $20 a pop turned out taking me three years, having half of the intended features, and for a price of $10 before I ended up making it freeware.

Windows 95 followed the exact same philosophy, too, and we all know how that went. The Windows 95/98/ME series was a hodgepodge of bubblegum, rubber bands, and duct tape, wrapped in a colorful marketing package. It took Microsoft years of carefully planning out a proper system at the drawing board to reengineer Windows for the new (at the time) NT platform. NT was only successful, though, because of proper advanced planning.

Certainly, evolving a program as you build it is "fun" as such. But it is NOT "the best way to create good software," it is actually the absolute worst way when it is not the only way. Sometimes it's necessary as a discovery process. But it will rarely output "good software". Without a disciplined, thorough, even boring Phase One (functional requirements gathering phase) and Phase Two (software design and engineering requirements phase), you will see your ever-elusive release date constantly fading into the unforeseeable future, and your end product will be a mushy mess of compromises, bugs, and half-baked ideas.

No, do the dirty work of thorough early engineering before writing too much code. It isn't fun during that phase, but it's worth it. Believe me, my current job is with a business software company that makes me spend weeks doing "software development" in Microsoft Word by documenting a design specification. During these phases I experience such depression that I go home wondering if I should abandon my career altogether. But when the phase is over and I see how easily the design spec can be carried out by simply following the business rules I wrote in software speak, and everything works like a charm with no fundamental flaws, holes, or foundational bugs, I realize how important the whole process really is.

When it comes to games, certainly creativity is important, as well as evolution of the game. I think it's inevitable that a great game will require some evolution along the way, particularly as new major technologies come out for PC software every couple months. However, the statement "This iterative approach to developing software is the best way to create good software"could not bother me so much if it wasn't so untrue, from a technical point of view. It is an ideal statement, but it is simply not reality.

Sincerely,
Jon Davis

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Xiaoth — Sun, 26 Feb 2006 19:48:07 GMT

Incidentally, this article series is invalid as it references DXMUTMisc.cs. The DX Utility Toolkit in the Samples directory is broken as it is out-of-date due to breaking changes in the SDK.

Correct me if I'm wrong. DXMUTMisc.cs simply does not compile, regardless of what Microsoft.DirectX.* assemblies are referenced.

Jon

________________

UPDATE:

OK, I've realized that I need to include *all* of the sample Utility Toolkit framework files, or Samples\Managed\Common\dxmut*.cs. However, it only worked if I used the .NET v1.1 DX assemblies. Using the single .NET v2 assembly, I still get compiler errors. Apparently the v2 version is either half-baked (beta) or is intended for specialized usage.

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okieDokie — Tue, 07 Mar 2006 22:55:15 GMT

AndyC wrote:

The latest DirectX comes with two versions of managed DirectX the old 1.1 version and a 2.0 beta (which doesn't seem to play nice with 2.0RTM)

If, when you add the DirectX references, you avoid adding the v2.0 Microsoft.DirectX library and instead only add the older versions (marked v1.1.4322) then everything seems to work okay.

There do seem to have been a few breaking changes between versions though so if the code was written against the 2.0 beta you might have to amend it slighty or use the beta 2.0 runtime (at least until a new DirectX SDK comes out, which will hopefully not be too long!)

I'm running VS 2005 Pro, WinXP Pro, DirectX v 1.0.2902.0 and I get a run-time exception: System.TypeInitializationException at this line of code...

int adapterOrdinal = Manager.Adapters.Default.Adapter;

What information do I need to provide to get some help with this problem? I tried using the 2.0 version and that failed as well with a conflict between DLL versions.

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agwan — Fri, 24 Mar 2006 11:10:07 GMT

Hello my name is daniel I'm 16 and started to write a game using the articels. Now I have a demo although not finnish it has passed the stage that the articles are currently covering. You can veiw my progresss at www.extremesolutions.co.nr hope you enjoy!

Agwan

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cyager — Sun, 26 Mar 2006 17:38:34 GMT

jon....

Chill.

Ask yourself 1 question. Did you learn anything?

You are going to look back at these posts someday and think -"Man, what an A-Hole I was!"

- a concerned fellow trainer geek

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arendell — Sun, 02 Apr 2006 03:40:17 GMT

After pulling my hair out trying to figure out why I'm not intelligent enough to get this tutorial to build I finally figured out that I was working with the 2.0 version of DirectX managed. The only change I had to make to get the tutorial code to build was in the CreateCrossHairVertexArrayTop and Bottom methods. Instead of returning a PositionColored[] it needs to return a GraphicsBuffer to the DrawUserPrimitives method. Not an earthbreaking change but maybe someone else can benefit from not wasting valuable hair strands on this simple issue. The code I used is:

private GraphicsBuffer CreateCrossHairVertexArrayTop ( )
{
   GraphicsBuffer crossHair = new GraphicsBuffer(7);
   float zval = 0f;
   Color col = Color.Green;

   crossHair.Write(new PositionColored(-1f, 1f, zval, col));
   crossHair.Write(new PositionColored(-1f, 2f, zval, col));
   crossHair.Write(new PositionColored(0f, 2f, zval, col));
   crossHair.Write(new PositionColored(0f, 3f, zval, col));
   crossHair.Write(new PositionColored(0f, 2f, zval, col));
   crossHair.Write(new PositionColored(1f, 2f, zval, col));
   crossHair.Write(new PositionColored(1f, 1f, zval, col));

   return crossHair;
}

Hope this helps someone out. Not sure the performance implications of using Generics instead of arrays, but I don't see any framerate difference in the tutorial application using DX 2 or DX 1.4 on my admitedly subpar gaming machine.

Scott

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Labris — Sat, 08 Apr 2006 18:55:10 GMT

I had an extremely low frame rate too. But I've added the following line to the presentParameters. I hope it just disables the Vertical Sync:

presentParams.PresentationInterval = PresentInterval.Immediate;

It boosted my framerate from 40 to 300 fps. So for me it helps.

Great article, btw.

Labris

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zman — Wed, 19 Apr 2006 00:07:42 GMT

Xiaoth wrote:

OK, I've realized that I need to include *all* of the sample Utility Toolkit framework files, or Samples\Managed\Common\dxmut*.cs. However, it only worked if I used the .NET v1.1 DX assemblies. Using the single .NET v2 assembly, I still get compiler errors. Apparently the v2 version is either half-baked (beta) or is intended for specialized usage.

Its quite clearly a beta, it has breaking changes and it is not yet complete (and never will be see Tom's blog). If the code in the article wasn't designed to run on MDX2.0 then don't try it unless you want to fix it yourself.

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Tiptup300 — Fri, 21 Apr 2006 23:24:07 GMT

First off I love the INFO THANK YOU!!!!!

but before the "3D Graphics Terminology" part I keep getting a build error

"error CS0246: The type or namespace name 'Device' could not be found (are you missing a using directive or an assembly reference?)"

why?

EDIT: Well I found out I had it in the wrong place and I double checked everything but I'm getting

"
c:\documents and settings\owner\my documents\visual studio projects\battletank2005\gameengine.cs(32,25): error CS0246: The type or namespace name 'Manager' could not be found (are you missing a using directive or an assembly reference?)
c:\documents and settings\owner\my documents\visual studio projects\battletank2005\gameengine.cs(38,4): error CS0246: The type or namespace name 'Caps' could not be found (are you missing a using directive or an assembly reference?)
c:\documents and settings\owner\my documents\visual studio projects\battletank2005\gameengine.cs(40,4): error CS0246: The type or namespace name 'CreateFlags' could not be found (are you missing a using directive or an assembly reference?)
c:\documents and settings\owner\my documents\visual studio projects\battletank2005\gameengine.cs(48,8): error CS0246: The type or namespace name 'caps' could not be found (are you missing a using directive or an assembly reference?)
c:\documents and settings\owner\my documents\visual studio projects\battletank2005\gameengine.cs(52,5): error CS0103: The name 'createFlags' does not exist in the class or namespace 'Battletank2005.Form1'
c:\documents and settings\owner\my documents\visual studio projects\battletank2005\gameengine.cs(60,5): error CS0103: The name 'createFlags' does not exist in the class or namespace 'Battletank2005.Form1'
c:\documents and settings\owner\my documents\visual studio projects\battletank2005\gameengine.cs(70,8): error CS0246: The type or namespace name 'caps' could not be found (are you missing a using directive or an assembly reference?)
c:\documents and settings\owner\my documents\visual studio projects\battletank2005\gameengine.cs(74,5): error CS0103: The name 'createFlags' does not exist in the class or namespace 'Battletank2005.Form1'
c:\documents and settings\owner\my documents\visual studio projects\battletank2005\gameengine.cs(80,4): error CS0246: The type or namespace name 'PresentParameters' could not be found (are you missing a using directive or an assembly reference?)
c:\documents and settings\owner\my documents\visual studio projects\battletank2005\gameengine.cs(82,4): error CS0246: The type or namespace name 'presentParams' could not be found (are you missing a using directive or an assembly reference?)
c:\documents and settings\owner\my documents\visual studio projects\battletank2005\gameengine.cs(94,4): error CS0103: The name 'device' does not exist in the class or namespace 'Battletank2005.Form1'
c:\documents and settings\owner\my documents\visual studio projects\battletank2005\gameengine.cs(116,4): error CS1525: Invalid expression term 'private'
c:\documents and settings\owner\my documents\visual studio projects\battletank2005\gameengine.cs(116,12): error CS1002: ; expected
"
a tiny amount of errors....please help....

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Nasai — Sun, 23 Apr 2006 03:38:27 GMT

Tiptup300 wrote:

First off I love the INFO THANK YOU!!!!!

but before the "3D Graphics Terminology" part I keep getting a build error

"error CS0246: The type or namespace name 'Device' could not be found (are you missing a using directive or an assembly reference?)"

why?

EDIT: Well I found out I had it in the wrong place and I double checked everything but I'm getting

"
c:\documents and settings\owner\my documents\visual studio projects\battletank2005\gameengine.cs(32,25): error CS0246: The type or namespace name 'Manager' could not be found (are you missing a using directive or an assembly reference?)
c:\documents and settings\owner\my documents\visual studio projects\battletank2005\gameengine.cs(38,4): error CS0246: The type or namespace name 'Caps' could not be found (are you missing a using directive or an assembly reference?)
c:\documents and settings\owner\my documents\visual studio projects\battletank2005\gameengine.cs(40,4): error CS0246: The type or namespace name 'CreateFlags' could not be found (are you missing a using directive or an assembly reference?)
c:\documents and settings\owner\my documents\visual studio projects\battletank2005\gameengine.cs(48,8): error CS0246: The type or namespace name 'caps' could not be found (are you missing a using directive or an assembly reference?)
c:\documents and settings\owner\my documents\visual studio projects\battletank2005\gameengine.cs(52,5): error CS0103: The name 'createFlags' does not exist in the class or namespace 'Battletank2005.Form1'
c:\documents and settings\owner\my documents\visual studio projects\battletank2005\gameengine.cs(60,5): error CS0103: The name 'createFlags' does not exist in the class or namespace 'Battletank2005.Form1'
c:\documents and settings\owner\my documents\visual studio projects\battletank2005\gameengine.cs(70,8): error CS0246: The type or namespace name 'caps' could not be found (are you missing a using directive or an assembly reference?)
c:\documents and settings\owner\my documents\visual studio projects\battletank2005\gameengine.cs(74,5): error CS0103: The name 'createFlags' does not exist in the class or namespace 'Battletank2005.Form1'
c:\documents and settings\owner\my documents\visual studio projects\battletank2005\gameengine.cs(80,4): error CS0246: The type or namespace name 'PresentParameters' could not be found (are you missing a using directive or an assembly reference?)
c:\documents and settings\owner\my documents\visual studio projects\battletank2005\gameengine.cs(82,4): error CS0246: The type or namespace name 'presentParams' could not be found (are you missing a using directive or an assembly reference?)
c:\documents and settings\owner\my documents\visual studio projects\battletank2005\gameengine.cs(94,4): error CS0103: The name 'device' does not exist in the class or namespace 'Battletank2005.Form1'
c:\documents and settings\owner\my documents\visual studio projects\battletank2005\gameengine.cs(116,4): error CS1525: Invalid expression term 'private'
c:\documents and settings\owner\my documents\visual studio projects\battletank2005\gameengine.cs(116,12): error CS1002: ; expected
"
a tiny amount of errors....please help....

This is because Derek forgot to tell us what we need to include at the top of our classes with "using" and when we need to do it. i ran into the same problem as you and made a solution for myself. add the following code after all the "using System" lines:

using Microsoft;
using Microsoft.Samples.DirectX.UtilityToolkit;
using Microsoft.DirectX;
using Microsoft.DirectX.Direct3D;

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Nasai — Sun, 23 Apr 2006 03:43:43 GMT

In article 3 in the Projection Transform section...

Derek wrote:

Standard aspect ratios for computer screens are 1.33 (640x480 or 1280x1024).

1280x1024 is actually a 1.25:1 aspect ratio, which is the standard for most LCD monitors. 1280x960 is a better example of a high 1.33:1 aspect ratio

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Tiptup300 — Tue, 25 Apr 2006 23:43:46 GMT

FINAL EDIT: I'm done with Article 3 but I am having one error happening 14 errors

Every one is the same "Microsoft.DirectX.Direct3D.CustomVertex.PositionColored' does not contain a definition for 'Position'" they are all getting errors on the line that has

crossHairs[?].Position = new Vector3(?f, ?f, zval);

--?

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Bucketofsquid — Mon, 01 May 2006 00:11:08 GMT

On lesson 2 I'm getting the error message:
Error 1 The type or namespace name 'Device' could not be found (are you missing a using directive or an assembly reference?)

C:\Documents and Settings\Tom\My Documents\Visual Studio 2005\Projects\BattleTank2005\BattleTank2005\GameEngine.cs

52

11

BattleTank2005

On the line:
private Device device;

My references are:
Microsoft.DirectX;
runtime ver - 1.1.4322
ver - 1.0.2902.0

Microsoft.DirectX.Direct3D;
runtime ver - 1.1.4322
ver - 1.0.2911.0

I have the lines:
using Microsoft.Samples.DirectX.UtilityToolkit;
using Microsoft.DirectX;
using Microsoft.DirectX.Direct3D;
using Microsoft;

What am I doing wrong?

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RobAPol — Tue, 02 May 2006 22:44:10 GMT

Great tutorial series! I am new to .net c# and direct-3d but found the tutorials very good. So good in fact that I have already started work on a new game!

However, I think that some of the code in Part VI is slightly buggy(!) :O

Specifically the calculations for the Index Buffer and Vertex buffers. Both routines as far as I'm aware (and remember I'm a noob at this) seem to only work with terrain that is in a perfectly square area of vertices....

If you try different grids where the number of VertX != to the number of VertY the code fails. It might be that I'm using the code incorrectly, so I'm posting here to find out if there is an issue.

I have corrected the formula used in the code on my machine and everything seems to work fine now.

If you guys want me to post the modified code just send me an email!

RobP
Noob DirectX'er

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nmoog — Sun, 07 May 2006 04:15:05 GMT

Just a note about the framerate problem people seem to be having - I started following the video tutes on RocketCommander (http://msdn.microsoft.com/coding4fun/gamedevelopment/rocketcmd/) at Coding4fun.

Rocket Commander does not use the OnPaint methods for rendering. I tried the rocket commander method on Battle Tank and my average fps went from 45 fps to over 1000 fps! (which is a bit annoying as it's WAAAY too fast!)

Basically you don't use the Application.Run method and render in OnPaint, but create your own form, have a "while" loop. The while loop calls Application.DoEvents() to make sure it plays nicely.

If you just follow the rocketcommander stuff for the first couple of tutorial you can learn some good stuff to use here - but it doesnt cover the basics of cameras and stuff - goes very advanced very quickly

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Tiptup300 — Tue, 09 May 2006 22:33:02 GMT

EDIT: COME ON!!! I NEED HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I get this error for each line of Position

'Microsoft.DirectX.Direct3D.CustomVertex.PositionColored' does not contain a definition for 'Position'

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Toadkillerdog — Sat, 13 May 2006 16:20:38 GMT

Anyone else having difficulty with the Soduku code sample? I keept getting a an "UNDONE, LOC" error, and I can't figure out what it means.

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DaGeRe — Thu, 18 May 2006 14:53:24 GMT

Hi!

I've got a problem with adding the file dxmutmisc.cs in Part 1 into my program.

I made a new folder like written their, included my dxmutmisc.cs to this, and tried to run the code. There are appearing many(133) errors.

The first:

Error 1 The type or namespace name 'DirectX' does not exist in the namespace 'Microsoft' (are you missing an assembly reference?) C:\Programme\Programmieren\C++\01\BattleTank\BattleTank\DirectXSupport\dxmutmisc.cs 12 17 BattleTank

Error 2 The type or namespace name 'DirectX' does not exist in the namespace 'Microsoft' (are you missing an assembly reference?) C:\Programme\Programmieren\C++\01\BattleTank\BattleTank\DirectXSupport\dxmutmisc.cs 13 17 BattleTank

Error 3 The type or namespace name 'Usage' could not be found (are you missing a using directive or an assembly reference?) C:\Programme\Programmieren\C++\01\BattleTank\BattleTank\DirectXSupport\dxmutmisc.cs 514 16 BattleTank

Can someone tell me how to get this running?

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WoogyChuck — Sun, 21 May 2006 14:17:22 GMT

I guess maybe I don't agree with most people about this tutorial. I actually think it could use a lot of improvement.

It seems that almost every part starts with a section with all kinds of refactoring. Unfortunately, no code is shown. So each lesson, you have to download new sample code and figure things out for yourself.

It's just frustrating to go through a lesson and write code only to find out that you're just going to replace it. I started reading this because I wanted to write code, not examine and edit somebody else's code.

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Christian Liensberger — Sun, 21 May 2006 20:18:20 GMT

DaGeRe wrote:

Hi!

I've got a problem with adding the file dxmutmisc.cs in Part 1 into my program.

I made a new folder like written their, included my dxmutmisc.cs to this, and tried to run the code. There are appearing many(133) errors.

Remove the Reference to Microsoft.DirectX and add it again, make sure you att the library with version: 1.0.x and not the 2.0.x

2.0 is still beta and combines the different assemblies into one. Somehow it's always referencing the wrong assembly. I don't know why.

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doron — Tue, 30 May 2006 17:48:07 GMT

hello all
im new to DX and im trying to follow this development series as a start point.
problem is im also not familer to C#. so im trying to run this thing in VB 2005.
i got to the part that requiers the use of the dxmutmisc.cs file. and found out i cant use this class lib in VB. i mean i added the file all right but the namespace doest work in a VB application. right?
at this point i remembered there is a sample code for the VB version. and after opening it i discoverd the dxmutmisc.cs is not present in the solution. and i get gazilion errors regarding its name space.
so how ecactly is this code suppose to work in VB like the tutorial siad?

thank you
Doron

ps - im new here so im sorry if i posted in the wrong place

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zman — Sat, 03 Jun 2006 22:09:13 GMT

I'm not sure how derek does it but the usual solution is that he has provided a compiled assembly that contains the functionailty. You should add that DLL to your references.

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PeaTierGriffen — Sun, 04 Jun 2006 02:49:18 GMT

(Lesson entitled DirectInput)

Hello; fellow programmers. . .

I, like most of you, have found this string of tutorials a great way to

step into the world of directX programming.

I, however, have become a little confused over the way the author

creates the cubes used for containing the textures of the SkyBox.

This code snippet which creates one of the cubes used to display terrain texture in the skybox confuses me in a couple ways:

- What does each point represent :

(what exactly are Vertices/Vertexs)

- What do Tu, Tv, Nx, Ny and Nz represent

- And my biggest confusing lies in how we decipher where each point is to be found in the 3D world :

- where is the point of reference?

- if this is actually making a cube (which i believe) why dont we just logically use a square being that the texture is a square and never passed by the player.

Mostly I am just trying to understand the scale and

measurement system being used to reference points in the

infinite world we have.

_leftFaceVertex[0].X = -100.0f;
_leftFaceVertex[0].Y = 100.0f;
_leftFaceVertex[0].Z = -100.0f;
_leftFaceVertex[0].Tu = 0.0f;
_leftFaceVertex[0].Tv = 0.0f;
_leftFaceVertex[0].Nx = 1.0f;
_leftFaceVertex[0].Ny = 0.0f;
_leftFaceVertex[0].Nz = 0.0f;
_leftFaceVertex[1].X = -100.0f;
_leftFaceVertex[1].Y = 100.0f;
_leftFaceVertex[1].Z = 100.0f;
_leftFaceVertex[1].Tu = 1.0f;
_leftFaceVertex[1].Tv = 0.0f;
_leftFaceVertex[1].Nx = 1.0f;
_leftFaceVertex[1].Ny = 0.0f;
_leftFaceVertex[1].Nz = 0.0f;
_leftFaceVertex[2].X = -100.0f;
_leftFaceVertex[2].Y = -100.0f;
_leftFaceVertex[2].Z = -100.0f;
_leftFaceVertex[2].Tu = 0.0f;
_leftFaceVertex[2].Tv = 1.0f;
_leftFaceVertex[2].Nx = 1.0f;
_leftFaceVertex[2].Ny = 0.0f;
_leftFaceVertex[2].Nz = 0.0f;
_leftFaceVertex[3].X = -100.0f;
_leftFaceVertex[3].Y = -100.0f;
_leftFaceVertex[3].Z = 100.0f;
_leftFaceVertex[3].Tu = 1.0f;
_leftFaceVertex[3].Tv = 1.0f;
_leftFaceVertex[3].Nx = 1.0f;
_leftFaceVertex[3].Ny = 0.0f;
_leftFaceVertex[3].Nz = 0.0f;

Thanks for anyhelp and I hope my question has not already been
addressed.

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PeaTierGriffen — Sun, 04 Jun 2006 03:37:38 GMT

Update:

It has now come clear to me that we are indeed making a square :O

I understand now everthing except what Nx, Ny and Nz represent

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robert1352 — Sun, 04 Jun 2006 15:12:04 GMT

Hello everone Im very new so please forgive me if im posting in the wrong place,Im trying to use the templates in the begining game development series with VB 2005 express but when I try to install the template I get this error "Installation stopped because the directory for the ProjectType value did not exist. The project type is invalid for your installation of Visual Studio." do I need to download an update or something?? I would be very greateful l for any help. Thank you in advance!!

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MrFishman — Tue, 06 Jun 2006 09:37:24 GMT

Hello there,

In Part II – Introduction to DirectX right before 3D Graphics Terminology when I try to debug and test I get the following exception:

LoaderLock was detected
Message: DLL 'C:\WINDOWS\assembly\GAC\Microsoft.DirectX.Direct3D\1.0.2902.0__31bf3856ad364e35\Microsoft.DirectX.Direct3D.dll' is attempting managed execution inside OS Loader lock. Do not attempt to run managed code inside a DllMain or image initialization function since doing so can cause the application to hang.

I've read some help material on LoaderLock, but that didn't really help me. How to solve this?

EDIT: Never mind, I've looked around on the MSDN forums and it appears this problem has something to do with version conflicts. I've already found a way around this.

If you happen to have the same problem, look here for help: http://search.msdn.microsoft.com/search/default.aspx?__VIEWSTATE=&query=LoaderLock+was+detected&siteid=0&tab=1

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agwan — Sun, 11 Jun 2006 03:48:26 GMT

My Site http://www.extremesolutions.co.nr

If you wish to suppy vb.net game dev code

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Crimsus — Sun, 11 Jun 2006 16:30:12 GMT

I just started the DirectInput section of the series. I downloaded the code for VB but it keeps popping up with AccessViolationException errors before the form is even displayed.

I'm kind of surprised that sample code like this would fail "out-of-the-box". Is anyone else having this problem?

-Crimsus

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Crimsus — Sun, 11 Jun 2006 16:45:31 GMT

doron wrote:

i discoverd the dxmutmisc.cs is not present in the solution. and i get gazilion errors regarding its name space.
so how ecactly is this code suppose to work in VB like the tutorial siad?

thank you
Doron

ps - im new here so im sorry if i posted in the wrong place

Hi Doron,

I ran into similar problems when I was reviewing the code and tried to run it. Luckily, I was also researching how to do high performance counters with an accuracy better than GetTickCount().

Here is a link to the timer class I'm working on that uses the QueryPerformanceCounter/Frequency functions.

Click to view the timer class: http://home.hawaii.rr.com/propanephoenix/PC.vb

I'll not give you a total solution to get the code to work, but if you examine the code for the class I created, you'll get a pretty good idea what is going on. Just keep in mind this class is in its "Beta" stage.

-Crimsus

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EzarKun — Sun, 18 Jun 2006 15:42:12 GMT

nvm found my mistakes

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rderkis — Fri, 23 Jun 2006 00:12:45 GMT

I have been over the articals a dozen times. Thanks to these posts I have it up and running. It is a great tutorial series on directx, compaired to the others I have run accross!
I still don't come close to understanding it

I have struggled for a week trying to get a tank(Space Ship) to circle the camera. How do I do it? It can't be that hard!? All I have managed to do is fly it in a straight lne. I set the tanks y cordinate at 40 which seems to be the middle of forward looking view. But the way to manipulate the x and z variables, to fly in a circle around me, totaly evades me!
Any help would be greatly appreated!

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AhnFire — Tue, 27 Jun 2006 19:31:24 GMT

The link for the Windows SDK February 2006 CTP is broken in the WPF Sudoku article 1.

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=9BE1FC7F-0542-47F1-88DD-61E3EF88C402

There seems to be a Windows SDK Beta 2, is that the one to get now?

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kss — Mon, 03 Jul 2006 04:05:03 GMT

I need to add "bank" (aka "roll") control to the camera, in addition to the heading and pitch control already implemented in Camera.cs (BattleTank2005 3, 4 & 5). This would rotate the camera view around the x axis. I assume this will require factoring a _bank value, say -90 to +90, into the MoveCameraPosition() and Render() methods.

Can anyone provide tips on the easiest way to add banking control to the existing code?

Any help would be appreciated!

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Dead_Illusionist — Fri, 14 Jul 2006 02:27:34 GMT

I am having a problem debugging and running the code after the third tutorial, it's giving me 19 errors about "Vector 3" and "Matrix."

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Zurekbrau — Tue, 18 Jul 2006 16:33:13 GMT

I am sorry I was trying to reply to another post. This has to do with Exceptions when running the Battle Tank part II.

Here is the error:
System.TypeInitializationException was unhandled
Message="The type initializer for 'Microsoft.DirectX.Direct3D.Manager' threw an exception."
Source="Microsoft.DirectX.Direct3D"
TypeName="Microsoft.DirectX.Direct3D.Manager"
StackTrace:
       at Microsoft.DirectX.Direct3D.Manager.get_Adapters()
       at BattleTank2005.GameEngine..ctor() in C:\Projects\BattleTank2005\BattleTank2005\GameEngine.cs:line 23
       at BattleTank2005.Program.Main() in C:\Projects\BattleTank2005\BattleTank2005\Program.cs:line 17
       at System.AppDomain.nExecuteAssembly(Assembly assembly, String[] args)
       at System.AppDomain.ExecuteAssembly(String assemblyFile, Evidence assemblySecurity, String[] args)
       at Microsoft.VisualStudio.HostingProcess.HostProc.RunUsersAssembly()
       at System.Threading.ThreadHelper.ThreadStart_Context(Object state)
       at System.Threading.ExecutionContext.Run(ExecutionContext executionContext, ContextCallback callback, Object state)
       at System.Threading.ThreadHelper.ThreadStart()

When I was adding the wrong DirectX reference to the project I had duplicate function names and this I think is the root cause of the problem. I had the IDE VS2005 resolve the conflict by adding an app.config file to the project with the resolve conflict wizard. To fix the problem change the reference back to the Microsoft.DirectX version 1.0.2902.0 and remove the app.config file from your project.

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nexus1g — Sun, 30 Jul 2006 06:16:08 GMT

Hi, I'm having a problem with my code. I may have already repaired it but I'm not entirely certain the application is performing as it should.

I downloaded the latest version of DirectX SDK (the 6/9/2006 publish).

When compiling the application, I get the error, "The type or namespace name 'Samples' does not exist in the namespace 'Microsoft' (are you missing an assembly reference?)

According to the debugger, it refers to this line:
using Microsoft.Samples.DirectX.UtilityToolkit;

I have the line included with the other using directives at the bottom of the list.

When I remove this line, the project compiles successfully.

My concern is that I wonder if the application is performing as intended now without that line. With my experience, simply removing a using directive that's needed would only throw an error at compile-time. So, I will give a description as to what exactly my application looks like when it is run so you can tell me if it is running as intended or not.

In short, when the built application is run, I get an approximately 300 x 300 px window that, not including the border and title bar, is clear. When I move the window a little bit, it has artifacts of the old window in the orginal position within the boundries of the new position of the window before the window was moved. Therefore, if I drag the window up just a little bit, there will be an "image" of the title bar within the window. I hope that's descriptive enough. If you need more information, just let me know. Thanks.

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youcmecruzin13 — Fri, 04 Aug 2006 00:54:39 GMT

Hello,
well im trying to follow the tutorial but i need to download all that stuff! But i cant seem to find the windows feburary SDK Pack! What do i do? What do i search to get it?

EDIT: This is for the suduko Part 1 tutorial!

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CLMan — Sun, 06 Aug 2006 11:16:04 GMT

I downloaded the C# code of the latest article of Beginning Game Development Series.

I build and run the project but I see only a black screen.

Any tip please?

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Xiaoth — Mon, 07 Aug 2006 08:07:32 GMT

Nevermind (post stripped; I'm not an a-hole but I don't like being called one).

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lingfors — Wed, 09 Aug 2006 01:24:03 GMT

I believe the following is a better fix for the InvalidCallException in the device creation call (since the fix mentioned previously didn't fix it for me, but the code below does).

#if DEBUG
            presentParams.Windowed = true;
#else
            presentParams.Windowed = false;
            presentParams.BackBufferFormat = Manager.Adapters.Default.CurrentDisplayMode.Format;
            presentParams.BackBufferHeight = Manager.Adapters.Default.CurrentDisplayMode.Height;
            presentParams.BackBufferWidth = Manager.Adapters.Default.CurrentDisplayMode.Width;
#endif

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moebious — Sat, 12 Aug 2006 13:52:38 GMT

I want to start going though the Beginning Game Development toturials and I have a question. Should I get the DirectX9 SDK, or should I start with the latest which is DirectX10? I am a professional developer but have no experience with DirectX and I want to make this as painless as possible. If I should get the DerictX9 SDK, where can I get it? the Microsoft web site has it pretty well. Any advise would be greatly appreciated (as long as it is good advise)

EDIT: Ok I found the april2005 release of DX9 sdk. which one should I install? should I reference the DX9 when I start? Will there be any problems if I install both?

EDIT:
Ok, after reading through a little bit I found that the tutorial starts out using the DirectX9 (Feb 2005) release. I found it by doing a search on the msdn site for "DirectX9 (February 2005)" (go figure) I will assume that if I install this version of the SDK things will go smooth from here. maybe this will help anyone with the same anal retentive tendecies that I have.

Thanks,

Moebious

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moebious — Sat, 12 Aug 2006 19:27:10 GMT

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YellowBook — Sun, 13 Aug 2006 10:32:25 GMT

First, let me say I like programming in C#.NET but I thought one of the original aims of the .NET framework was portability e.g. code written using managed code could run on any platform provided that there was a runtime available for that platform (e.g. Mono project.) Surely using the DirectX namespace doesn't provide portability as the underlying library is tied to Windows? So, are there any real benefits of using .NET for Games development when C++ is generally better performance, no big runtime is required and there is no portability?

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wert1990 — Mon, 21 Aug 2006 10:10:51 GMT

Hallo does anybody knows how to use terragen files with direkt-x in C#.net?

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Boogeyman — Tue, 22 Aug 2006 02:36:31 GMT

Hey Bucketofsquid and Curious-Passers-By,

Did you find a solution to the type/namespace error? I too am experiencing the same error (Error 1 The type or namespace name 'Device' could not be found (are you missing a using directive or an assembly reference?)).

If anyone else may have a suggestion on how to repair this craziness, that would be great. I've tried adding/removing/adding the DirectX references (assuming that these refs contain the Device type definitions).

TIA

BTW... I am using:
- VS Pro 2005 (C#)
- DirectX refs:
DirectX (Runtime: v1.1.4322, Version 1.0.2902.0)
DirectX.Direct3D (Runtime v.1.1.4322, Version 1.0.2902.0)

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wert1990 — Fri, 25 Aug 2006 15:38:58 GMT

Hallo Boogeyman I had the sme problem too.

when creating the Device variable you need to use the whole name means:

microsoft.direk-x.direkt3d ... .device device = new microsoft. ... device();
(c#)

or something similar. in the code to the article is alse one using statement missing it is the same namespace as the divice.

I have found a programm that converts the terragen files into .raw heightmaps.

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Boogeyman — Tue, 29 Aug 2006 01:14:39 GMT

Hey wert1990,

Thanks for your help! It worked!

Phew!

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gleepglop — Sun, 10 Sep 2006 07:19:21 GMT

I downloaded the latest (august) DX SDK.
I installed C# express.
I downloaded the code for the first few tuts.
I compiled the unmodified code for the first few tuts.
Debug version does nothing I can see;
Release versions fail: ask whether I want to send an error report
I seem to have wasted the last 6 hours of my life on this stuff
I know C++ but I know nothing about Windows programming, so maybe I'm missing something obvious, but shouldn't the tutorials just work out of the box? THey compile fine.

Maybe I just need to find a beginning game programming tutorial that actually works somewhere else. This one looked so promising though. But now it's very late and I'm a little bit ticked off.

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gleepglop — Sun, 10 Sep 2006 18:13:54 GMT

star date log: the very next day

I realize now that the debug version works (F5) and perhaps was working all along. It's the release version (F6) that doesn't work. It compiles fine, I think. It doesn't automatically run though after compiling. When I go to the release folder and try to run it it just causes the Send Error Report dialog box to open.

I don't have this problem with sample projects included with the SDK.

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timbann — Thu, 14 Sep 2006 21:17:28 GMT

F6 in visual express (at least, in the one I have:) ) is the shortcut for 'Build', so it's normal that no instance of the actual application is started.

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gigabite — Sat, 16 Sep 2006 16:01:10 GMT

what about vb.
this may be off topic but the totrial says that you can use vb but i keep getting errors because the DirectX support files are in c#. even the sample code gats errors
help please:(

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Proffessor_gad — Wed, 27 Sep 2006 02:46:55 GMT

Hmm, I've been following the tutorial to the second page now, and I had some problems. Luckily for me, I was smart enough to solve them. These problems were not mine, they were derik's...(but I won't critisize since I'm clueless on how to do anything in C# unless it's in a detailed step by step tutorial).

Anyways, you need to add this to the using commands-

using Microsoft.DirectX;

using Microsoft.DirectX.Direct3D;

And somewhere after the render loop you should have this empty thing-

private void GameEngine_Load(object sender, EventArgs e)

{
/*
Pretty useless huh? But it solves a major problem that I had been getting, so you had better have this in there!
*/
}

P.S. this should solve everything before he tells you to execute the empty blue box. Nothing more.

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EricSal — Fri, 20 Oct 2006 19:38:03 GMT

Sudoku Game Part II

Events

public class Cell : INotifyPropertyChanged

causing errors ...

Need to add

using System.ComponentModel;

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Porks — Mon, 23 Oct 2006 21:49:54 GMT

I got this error for the 3rd part of the Begin Game Dev series:

Microsoft.DirectX.Direct3D.InvalidCallException was unhandled
Message="Error in the application."
Source="Microsoft.DirectX.Direct3D"
ErrorCode=-2005530516
ErrorString="D3DERR_INVALIDCALL".............

after a day of head scratching and moving things about to see what effects they had I fixed it by moving this line of code:

device.VertexFormat = CustomVertex.PositionColored.Format;

to above this line:

device.DrawUserPrimitives(PrimitiveType.LineStrip, 6, CreateCrossHairVertexArrayTop());

rather than below the DrawUserPrimitives as I seemed to think whilst reading the tutorial

Everything else I did as told and I used Visual Studio Express with the SP1 and the Aug2006 Direct SDK and it seems to work fine.

I understand the issue as you have to define a pipeline before you draw the arrays?

PS Hello to everyone

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sashah — Thu, 26 Oct 2006 16:08:28 GMT

Problems with part7

Hi i downloaded project part 7. terrain generator is a separate project file and there are no references to it atall in the battletank project code in fact i cannot tell any difference between the battletank projects from parts 6 and 7 except for this additional terrain generator project file that doesnt work on its own????

thanks

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sashah — Thu, 26 Oct 2006 16:26:02 GMT

Hi

Been looking at the article a little more

Just to be sure can i ask is this article and corresponding code finished???

quote:

With these changes to the camera class, integrating the terrain into the game will be a lot easier. It also shows you that there are many ways of accomplishing the same task. You should experiment with the various versions and choose the one you like best.

Terrain Elevation

In the last article you may have noticed that we used the Scaling matrix to change the size of the terrain mesh before rendering. These scale variables must be applied to any coordinate resolutions, so I moved them into separate variables. Remember to set add _device.RenderState.NormalizeNormals = true to recompute the normals.

At the bottom of the Terrain class add the following code.

From what i can gather the tutorial doesnt explain how to integrate the newly created terrain into the main project.

DOH!!!!!!!!!

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wizecoder — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 17:27:06 GMT

How about some articles like that using c++. Because i have been having trouble finding good complete up to date tutorials. Thanks:D